I would be interested to know exactly how you use a Raspberry Pi to stream music. I am not on any service and do not plan to be. I do watch YouTube music videos and play that through the computer speakers. My music would probably come from the PC and go to the DAC then to the stereo. Sources could be videos or online radio streaming. I run Linux which I believe is very DAC friendly.
Take these DAC reviews with a grain of salt apart maybe from the feature walkthroughs. I have a Topping D10s and SMSL M400 on my desk, both on the opposite sides of the price spectrum of, well, Chinese DACs. One uses a cheaper ESS chip, the other top of the line AKM converter. Both feed to a SMSL Sp400 headphone amp. Listening with Sennheiser HD6XX headphone I can't tell the difference between the 2 when switching inputs on the amp. The point being, all DACs that are technically correct will sound much the same.
I take all reviews with a grain of salt. I just went and read a review of your SMSL DAC. The reviewer says, “The entire top end has a glistening effect to it, a gentle and stunning luster. That sparkle effect, dream chased for years by me, is found here.” This is why I prefer to just listen to the stuff. Then there is the camp that measures them, starts by saying that “All DACs sound the same” but finishes by obsessing over tiny measurement points. I appreciate gvl’s blunt, “I can’t tell the difference.”
mgosdin
Super Member
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...-lms-raspberrypi-in-a-mac-environment.952521/
Here is the tread, started by @hjames, that got me started making Streamers based on the Raspberry PI Zero W and Raspberry PI 4.
It's not hard to do, if you are comfortable with Linux especially since the two sets of software in the thread - Logitech Media Server & Volumio - both run on Linux on the PI. I spent about $60 each for the PI Zero W kits, 32 GB Micro SD Card, the USB C Audio Dongels & an adapter to go from USB C to Mini USB. The PI 4 runs LMS Server and can stream to any of the PI Zero W's.
All these can access various online streaming services, Tidal, Quobuz, Pandora, Radio Paradise, etc. as long as you have an account. I use my Media Server / NAS as a source for FLAC files from the 1500 + CD's that I have ripped.
Mark Gosdin
I went through several dac's within the last ten+ years, notables being; MSB, Dac 09 (Maverick?), Yulong, Schiit, Benchmark, Metrum, Burson, Monarchy Audio, Audio Research, Geek Pulse and Topping 50s (last and final I hope
).
Ones that have stayed are Monarchy (24/96 only), Metrum and Audio Research. Burson and Pulse are currently loaned out.
Why? Because I like the way the above sound and have been streaming Qobuz exclusively for a couple of years now.
).Ones that have stayed are Monarchy (24/96 only), Metrum and Audio Research. Burson and Pulse are currently loaned out.
Why? Because I like the way the above sound and have been streaming Qobuz exclusively for a couple of years now.
mozcho
Well-Known Member
Well, I did a search and found this on the Monarchy:I went through several dac's within the last ten+ years, notables being; MSB, Dac 09 (Maverick?), Yulong, Schiit, Benchmark, Metrum, Burson, Monarchy Audio, Audio Research, Geek Pulse and Topping 50s (last and final I hope
Ones that have stayed are Monarchy (24/96 only), Metrum and Audio Research. Burson and Pulse are currently loaned out.
Why? Because I like the way the above sound and have been streaming Qobuz exclusively for a couple of years now.
http://www.audioreview.com/product/digital-sources/dacs/monarchy-audio/dac-m22c.html
The 2nd reviewer: "...Monarchy M24, and it's ability to transform the sound of "Red Book" CD's into great sound that rivals that of the best vinyl and digital playback systems."
It is possible?
Now I'm actually thinking about getting a Dayton Audio DAC01, which seems to be perfect for what I need and the price is right...
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-DAC01-USB-Audio-DAC-24-bit-96-kHz-RCA-Output-230-510
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-DAC01-USB-Audio-DAC-24-bit-96-kHz-RCA-Output-230-510
Topping E50 is hard to beat at the $266 price point. Hard to beat at any price point actually...
In college a buddy of mine put a $700 stereo into a $500 car. I need this DAC for my 2005 truck.
Not that I’m going’s to buy it, but Chord DACs are ground up designs with proprietary DSP and custom D/A conversion implementation, and their higher end models tend to show state of the art technical performance. In other words It’s a fair game for someone who’s shopping in that price segment unlike some other offerings, if they can live with the odd user interface anyway.
Need new DAC's for the wife's studio and my music room. Went ahead and ordered both the E50 and the D90SE from Apos. Will be interested to see how these sound against the BiFrost 2 I've been using the past year.
Topping is making some fine products of late. I came close to buying the D90SE but bought the Gustard X28Pro instead. A very fine DAC, probably the best ESS DAC I have heard.
F
From the quick read on the Gustard it sounds like a very sweet unit. I'll keep it in mind if I see one used as right now keeping things under $1K is a requirement.
From the quick read on the Gustard it sounds like a very sweet unit. I'll keep it in mind if I see one used as right now keeping things under $1K is a requirement.
In my case I was considering a RTR DAC. RTR may sound good, but they are very difficult and expensive to accomplish well enough to say they have a sonic benefit over good delta-sigma designs. I’m not convinced the extreme expense is worth it? I’m quite found of the audio performance of ESS9038pro DACs but they can have a hint of glare (although the 9038pro is much better than past examples from ESS).
I think the x28pro is a good compromise by duplicating some of the musical nature of a RTR DAC with the extreme detail of the ESS chip. It has dual 9038pro chips, one for each channel. Dual power supplies, one for digital and one for analog outputs. Excellent filtering of AC along with class A circuit for the audio outputs. The internal clock is Gustard’s own design and has exceptional specifications. Of specific significance is it has its own proprietary DSP and filter logic to manage it’s own sonic signature. I think Gustard did their homework on this DAC. Yes it is a bit more expensive than other ESS9038pro DACs, but I think they were smart on where they applied this added costs and they are still much cheaper than a similar performing RTR DAC.
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